My Father Smirked and Told the Wedding Guests

roses.

What my father never bothered to learn

People like my father understand rank only when it comes with noise.

Dress blues.

Rows of ribbons.

A command photo on a wall.

A speech with applause at the end.

He never understood what I did because what I did happened in windowless rooms at ugly hours, with maps, fuel numbers, and three screens open at once continue reading …